Unsold Goods in Fashion: Circularity Starts With the Decisions Made Upstream
SecondFlow, the pilot project alongside the Monitor For Circular Fashion
A new study from SDA Bocconi School of Management argues that circularity in fashion is decided upstream, at the moment brands choose what to make, how much, from which materials and on the basis of what data. The Circular Fashion Manifesto 2026, developed by the Monitor for Circular Fashion (M4CF), makes the point that handling surplus stock well is now a matter of regulatory compliance, but keeping it from building up in the first place is the better outcome for both businesses and the environment.
According to the research, unsold goods are the product of fragmented decisions, incomplete information and responsibilities that are not always allocated efficiently. Tackling them therefore requires coordination across the whole chain: design teams, suppliers, manufacturers, brands, distributors, platforms and consumers. The Manifesto turns this principle into an operational framework of 28 strategies, mapped to the different stages of the value chain, each paired with indicators to track progress.
The study arrives at a time of significant regulatory change. The European Commission is bringing in new ecodesign requirements, the Digital Product Passport, limits on the destruction of unsold products and extended producer responsibility for textile waste. Many remedies are already familiar, from better forecasting and production based on planned orders to resale, repair, donation, reuse and recycling. What the Manifesto adds is a broader picture of why surplus arises, who is responsible at each step and how results can be measured.
The scope also goes beyond finished garments. The research covers unused fabrics and components, defective or returned items, recoverable materials, and products that fail to find a buyer despite retaining economic and functional value.
Four questions guided the work:
- Which elements of the current system create or amplify unsold goods?
- Which innovations can support the shift to a more efficient model?
- How can a supply chain prevent surplus systematically and get the most value out of what is unavoidable?
- Which practices and indicators can turn circularity from a declaration of intent into a management process?
How the framework was built
M4CF is the research observatory within SDA Bocconi’s Sustainability Lab, bringing together fashion companies from upstream and downstream segments of the supply chain and the providers of circular technologies. In April 2026, together with CNA Federmoda, it applied the Three Horizons method, a scenario-planning tool linking the current system, innovations already under way and a desirable future. Between 2020 and 2025 the Monitor supported 20 circular innovation projects, and in 2025/2026 it contributed to consultations on European Joint Research Centre studies covering ecodesign and the content of the Digital Product Passport.
The analysis identifies what makes unsold goods hard to manage today: a lack of data, limited collaboration, scattered responsibilities and low consumer trust. It points to manufacturing and digital technologies, resource sharing, training and awareness-raising as enablers of a supply chain that produces to demand, extends product life and shares both responsibility and verifiable information.
The 28 strategies cover the full lifecycle of surplus: avoiding it through better design and planning, maximizing its value through resale, repair, reuse, donation and rental, and finally measuring outcomes and building awareness among companies and consumers.
A solution already at work on B/Samply
The study shows that circular solutions for surplus materials are already within reach, and one of the cases it examines comes directly from Deda Stealth’s B/SAMPLY platform.
In SecondFlow, a project with YKK, unused zippers and buttons were made available on B/COMMUNITY, Deda Stealth’s B2B platform. Through it, these materials became accessible to educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and fashion associations, so that components that might otherwise have remained idle in stock can be put to new use.
It is a concrete example of the Manifesto’s central idea: when information is shared and the right tools connect the players in the supply chain, surplus materials can find a new purpose instead of becoming waste. B/SAMPLY was also built to support this kind of exchange, helping surplus find the right outlet.